Sewing machine for concealed slide fasteners



Oct; 31, 1961 w.. T. LEONARD ETAL 3,006,301

SEWING MACHINE FOR CONCEALED SLIDE FASTENERS Filed May 19, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS WILLIAM T. LEONARD KENNETH F. DIEHM mum ATTORNEY Oct. 31, 1961 w. T. LEONARD EIAL 3,005,301

SEWING MACHINE FOR CONCEALED SLIDE FASTENERS Filed May 19, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS WILLIAM T. LEONARD KENNETH F. DIEHM MAM ATTORNEY United States Patent Filed May 19, 1958, Ser. No. 736,385 3 Claims. 01. 112-260) The present invention relates to a machine for sewing concealed slide fasteners, and more particularly to a machine for sewing concealed slide fasteners wherein the sewn-in slide fastener closely resembles a seam when the slide fastener is closed, and wherein the stitching joining the slide fastener to the cloth to which it is attached is concealed.

'In articles of wearing apparel where fashion is important, it has long been desirable to conceal slide fasteners, so that the same are not revealed when the garment is worn with the slide fastener in its closed dis-' position. In particular, it has long been desirable to provide garments, such as dresses, witlra concealed slide fastener which in its closed disposition closely simulates a seam. For example, the concealed slide fastener may be collinear with a true seam in the garment and appear to be a portion of such seam when the slide fastener is in its closed disposition.

The accomplishment of the aforesaid desiderata has been impeded by a number of problems. Thus, it is necessary to sew the tapes on which the slide fastener elements are carried onto the garment, andthe concealment of the lines of stitching which are parallel to the simulated seam effected by the closed slide fastener has proven to be difficult. Moreover, to effect the optimum mounting of a concealed slide fastener it is necessary that the line of stitching joining the tape carrying the slide fastener elements and the juxtaposed cloth of the garment be as close as possible to the slide fastener elements. This has proved to be a most diificult problem since present day demands upon the clothing industry require the high speed installation of slide fasteners.

3,006,301 Patented Oct. 31, I961 of a machine for sewing concealed slide fasteners onto 1 cloth in such manner that when the concealedslide The pioneer researches of Benjamin Duchan and Philip E. Crystal in this art have led to the development of highly efiicient machines and processes for sewing the line of stitching joining the tape carrying the slide fastener elements and the juxtaposed cloth of the garment very close to the slide fastener elements. continued researches of these earlier workers in this field and have developed the subject invention which comprises a machine for sewing concealed slide fasteners in which the line of stitching joining the tape carrying the slide fastener elements and the juxtaposed cloth of the garment is abutting to the slide fastener elements.

'Moreover, in our machine, feeding of the cloth undergoing stitching is rendered more readily than has heretofore been deemed possible because our machine permits the garment undergoing stitching to be positioned away from the arm of the sewing machine whereby the movement of such garment upon the bed of the sewing machine is virtually uninterrupted.

-. This invention has as an object the provision of a machine for sewing concealed slide fasteners onto a juxtaposed cloth.

This invention has as another object the provision of a machine which can sew concealed slide fasteners onto juxtaposed cloth at a rapid rate wtih a minimum of manual operation.

This invention has as yet another object the provision of a machine for sewing concealed slide fasteners onto a cloth so that the line of stitching joining the concealed slide fastener to the cloth is concealed.

This invention has as still another object the provision We have fasteners are in their closed disposition the appearance of a genuine seam is closely. simulated.

invention has .as a further object the provision of a-ymachine for sewing concealed slide fastenersonto a juxtaposed cloth in which the line of stitching joining the tape carrying the slide fastener elements and the juxtaposed cloth of the garment is as close as possible to the slide fastener elements.

This invention has as a still further object the pro-' vision of a machine for sewing concealed slide fasteners onto cloth in which the cloth may be readily advanced across the bed of the machine. I

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention there is shown in the drawings a form which is presently preferred; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

Referring to the following drawings, wherein like referencecharacters refer to like parts:

FIGURE 1 is a plan fragmentary view, viewed from above, of the presser foot and needle plate portion and contiguous bed portion of the sewing machine of the present invention.

'FIGURE 2 is a plan view similar to that of FIGURE 1, except that the presser foot is removed in order that clarity of underlying parts may be had.

. FIGURE 3 is an elevational view, viewed from the front, of the portion of the machine shown in FIGURE 1. 1 FIGURE 4 is an elevational view viewed from the direction of the arrows 4-4 in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 55 of FIGURE 1.

' FIGURE 6 is a plan view revealing the manner in which a tape bearing slide fastener elements is stitched to cloth by the machine of the present invention, the needle of the machine of the present invention being positioned in its disposition most closely contiguous to the slide fastener elements. a

' FIGURE'7 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 6 but revealing the lateral adjustment of the needle of the machine of the present invention to its disposition in which it is spaced an appreciable distance from the slide fastener elements carried by the tape, whereby the accommodation of the machine of the present invention to cloths of different thickness may behad.

FIGURE 8 is a view demonstrating the appearance of a concealed slide fastener when the same is in its closed disposition attached to cloth, such view demonstrating the seam-like appearance of such slide fastener.

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view taken on line 9-9 of FIGURE 6.

' FIGURE 10 is a'view revealing a concealed slide fastener of the type which may be utilized in connection with the present invention.

FIGURE 11 is a view taken on line 1111 of FIG- URE 8.

Referring to the drawings, and initially to FIGURES -1 through 5 inclusive, the machine of the present invention is designated generally as 20. Such machine may comprise a single needle lock stitch sewing machine. For the sake of simplicity and clarity of presentation, only those portions of the machine needed to comprehend the present invention will be described herein, it being understood that the remainder of the machine may be of conventional construction.

The machine 20 includes a presser foot 22, which may be retained in operative disposition by means of a presser bar (not shown) of conventional construction. The presser foot 22 is preferably of the type which forms 3. the, subject matter of our copending United States. patent application Serial No. 722,046 filed March 17, 1958 entitled: Presser Foot.

The presser foot 22 includes the body portion 24 which is: notched or sculptured at 26, for engagement with the P esser. bar. l

The body portion'24'includes at its rear the tubular sleevebearing 28 disposed generally normal to the longitudinal axis of the presser foot, 221. The sleeve. bearing 28 serves as the bearing for the gauge bar 30. If desired, he. sleeve bearing 28. may be providedwith a liner.

The gauge. bar 30 comprises a cylindrical rod member 32 having a free end 34 which enables. such cylindrical rod member 32, to be passed through the sleeve bearing 2. of body'Portion, 24 of presser foot 22. V

The end of cylindrical rod member 32. opposite from free end 34 carries the projection 36 which is an offset member that projects forwardly. The, free. end portion 38 of projection 36 is juxtaposed to the instep 40 of the presser foot 22 when the projection 36. is in its bottommost disposition. Such free end portion 38 is preferably provided; with a flat undersurface, andlijs, generally straight. and disposedin the planethat is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical rod member 32.

The foot 42;is notched at its instep to provide the needle'hole 44 through which the. needlej46 that is carried bythe needle bar 48 is passed. By needle hole used herein is meant to encompass the open notch type lowest part of projection 36, a relatively minor degree of pivotation of the projection 24 will remove the free end portion 38 from justaposition to the instep 40 of foot 42 of presser foot 22.

It is noted that the instep 40 is generally straight and runs from front to rear on both sides of the needle hole notch 44.

The presser foots 22 is disposed above the needle plate or throat plate 62 of the sewing machine 20. Such needle plate 62 is disposed upon the table or bed 64 on the sewing machine 20. Such table or bed 64 extends for an appreciable distance on all sides of the needle plate 62 and provides support for the cloth member undergoing stitching with the sewing machine 20 of the present invention. The needle plate 62 is threadably secured to the. table 64 by means of screws 66. Removal of the screws'66 will enable the needle plate 62 to be raised, thereby permitting access to. the contents within the table 64 of the sewing machine 10, such contents forming no part of the present invention.

The needle plate. 62 is formed in a stepwise fashion. Thus, the portion of needle plate 62 disposed beneath x thelpresser foot 22 is designated 68', such portion 68 beneedle hole shown in the drawings, which is preferred for; the sewing; machine of the present invention, over circular and elliptical needle holes.

The needle 46; of the Present invention is provided with an eye 50 which extends from front to rear rather than from side to side. The significance of having the needle 46 provided with an eye 50 that is disposed in the front to rear disposition shown particularly in FIG- 3 and 5 will be explained below..

In the sewing machine 20 of the present invention the needle bar 48 is laterally movable at the will of the user in the direction of the opposed arrows in FIGURE 3,

so that the needle 46 may be disposed in any one of a 7 number of dispositions in respect to the needle hole 4.4. Thus, as shown in FIGURE 6 th needle 46 may be disposed at the mouth of the needle holelnotch 44, or if de-. sired the needle 46 may be disposed entirely within the needle hole notch 44 of; the presser foot 22 as shown in FIGURE 7". Single needle lock stitch sewing machines are. presently commercially available which have means for moving the needle bar in the manner above-indicated and which comprise a needle whose eye is disposed in the front to rear disposition indicated above. Thus, no claim is made for specific means for moving-the needle bar 48 in the manner above-indicated.

The toe 5 2 of foot 42 ofpresser foot 22 is preferably blunted, and should be, approximately adjacent the tip 54 ffree end portion: 38of projection 36 of gauge, bar 30.

A stop collar 56 is carried on cylindrical rod member 32 intermediate the projection 36 and the bodyportion 24. The juxtaposed faces of the stop collar 56 and body portion 24 are preferably both planar.

A set; screw 58 is provided; on stop collar 56 for positioning such stop collar 56 at a predetermined distance from projection 36. r 7 If desired, the cylindrical rod member 32 may be gradurated bya: scale carried thereon; which will enable the user to accurately position the stop collar 56 in respect to the projection 36. a The locking of the cylindrical rod member 32 within the sleeve bearing 28 of body portion 24' is accomplished by the thumb screw 60which projects through the rear of the body portion 24 and extends into the sleeve bearing 28. The free end of thumb screw 60 may engage the cylindrical rod member 32 looking the same in any desired position within the sleeve bearing 28.

Since the free end portion 38 of projection 36 is the ing herein referred to as the inside portion 68. The portionof needle plate 62 spaced from the foot 42 of presser foot 22 comprises. the outside portion 70. As shown particularly in FIGURES 3 and 5, the inside portion 68 of needle plate 62. lies in a plane which is above the plane of the outside portion 70 of such needle plate 62. The relative height of inside portion 68 above outside portion 7 0, should be. apperciably greater than the dependent portion of the fastener elements of the slide fastener to be stitched to a cloth by the sewing machine 20. of the present invention when such fastener elements are disposed in the. manner shown in FIGURE 9.

Preferably for ease of construction, the needle plate 62. may comprise a planar plate in the plane of outside portion 70 onto which the inside portion 68 is mounted, as; indicated particularly in FIGURE 5.

The back uppermost edge 72' of inside portion 68 of needle plate 62 comprises a substantially straight line in termediate the needle plate notch 74 and the rear edge Z65 of the needle plate 62. As seen particularly in FIG- URESv 1- and 2,. such back uppermost edge 72 extends directly across the needle plate 62 parallel to the inside face of the free. end portion 38 of projection 36 of gauge bar 30. of presser foot 22.

The front uppermost edge 78 which extends from the needle plate notchv 74 to the front edge 80 of needle plate 62. may comprise. a continuation of back uppermost edge 72, 'bu'tiis. preferably disposed at. a slight angle in respect thereto, with the front portion of such front uppermost edge 78 being spaced inwardly a slight distance compared to they rear portion of such front uppermost edge 78.

The inside portion 68 of needle plate 62 presents a perpendicular imperforate wall 82 which extends the full distance across. the needle plate 62 depending from the front uppermost edge 78, the uppermost edge of the needle plate notch 74, and the back uppermost edge 72.

above-indicated, the height of such wall 82 is appreciably greater than the dependent portion of the slide fastener elements of the. slide fastener to be inserted by the sewing machine 20 of the present invention when such fastener elements are disposed in the manner shown in FIGURE 9.

The needle plate notch 74 comprises an open notch which extendsfinwardly an appreciable distance, as for example a distance equal to; or somewhat greater (in the illustrated-embodiment the distance is shown as being somewhat greater) than the inward extension of the needle hole 44in foot 42 of presser foot 22. V

The needle hole 84 of 'needle plate 62 is a closed needle hole (whose configuration may be circular, or elliptical, or other closed configuration) which. extends through the needle plate 62. A portion of the needle hole 84 is disposed within the outside portion 70 of needle plate 62 and a portion of the needle hole 84 is disposed within the inside portion 68 of needle plate 62.

In the illustrated embodiment in which the needle plate 62 is made in two elements, a planar element onto which the raised portion of inside portion 68 is mounted, the needle hole 84 may be formed in the lower planar element and the needle plate notch 74 may be formed in the raised portion, as shown particularly in FIGURE 5. Alternatively, the needle plate 62 may be formed integrally.

The inside portion 68 is slotted to provide feed slots 86 and 88 through which the respective feed claws 90 and 92 project, such feed claws 90 and 92 being of conventional construction and serving the purpose of advancing the cloth undergoing stitching in the direction away from the front edge 80 towards the rear edge 76.

The operation of the sewing machine 20 of the present invention is as follows:

A form of concealed slide fastener which may be utilized in accordance with the present invention is shown in FIGURE 10. The precise construction of the concealed slide fastener forms no part of the present invention, a wide variety of such concealed slide, fasteners being described in the art. A suitable example of a concealed slide fastener which may be utilized in the present invention is that disclosed in United States Letters Patent 2,738,560 issued March 20, 1956 to Jacques Hug entitled Concealed Slide-Fasteners. The finished sewn article is shown in FIGURES 8 and 11, and by reference to FIGURES 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11 a sufiicient understanding of the concealed slide fastener may be had.

The slide fastener 94 includes a pair of element supporting tapes 96 and 98 on which the elements 100 of the concealed slide fastener 94 are carried. The tapes 96 and 98 are permanently united together by means of a clip at the lowermost portion of the tapes 96 and 98. The concealed slide fastener 94 includes the slider 102 which carries the tab 104.

As seen particularly in FIGURE 11, the elements 100 are carried on folded-in inner edges of the tapes 96 and 98, the inner edges of the tapes 96 and 98 being welted at 106 to provide means for anchoring the elements 100. Since the elements 100 are disposed behind the inner edge portions of the tapes 96 and 98 and since the slider 102 rides on the inside and outside of the elements 100, when the concealed slide fastener 94 is closed (see FIGURE 8) substantially only the tab 104 is exposed to view.

FIGURES 6 and 9 (which is a section taken on line 99 of FIGURE 6) reveal the joinder of tape 96 to cloth 108. The cloth 108 in the embodiment shown in FIGURE 8 includes a sewn seam 110 above the concealed slide fastener 94 and a sewn seam 112 below the concealed slide fastener 94. The seams 110 and 112 join the cloth 108 to the cloth 114 (see FIGURE 8). The cloth 108 is folded back along fold line 116 (see FIGURE 11) to form the exposed major portion of the cloth designated 108a and the folded-under portion of the cloth 108b, such folded-under portion 108b of the cloth being juxtaposed to the tape 96. Similarly, the cloth 114 is folded back along fold line 118 to form the exposed major portion designated 114a and the foldedunder portion 114b, such folded-under portion 11% being juxtaposed to the tape 98.

Referring now particularly to FIGURES 6 and 9, the stitching of the tape 96 to cloth 108 formed of thin fabric is shown. Where the fabric 108 is thin it is essential if the slide fastener 94 is to be concealed from view as shown in FIGURE 8 that the line of stitching 120 be as close as possible to the slide fastener elements 100. Thus, the needle 46 should be positioned adjacent the elements 100 substantially almost in rubbing contact therewith. The disposition of the eye '50 of the needle 46, which as above-indicated is from the front to the rear, enables the thread 122 to be passed through the eye 50 of needle 46 without interfering with the positioning of the needle 46 closely adjacent to the elements 100. Thus, where a needle having an eye extending from side to side is used, the thread will be interposed between the needle and the elements and will interfere with the positioning of the needle closely adjacent to the elements and/or will be broken when the needle is positioned closely adjacent the elements.

The free end portion 38 and the foot 42 of presser foot 22 guide the tape 96 along the uppermost edges 78 and 72 of inside portion 68 of needle plate 62. The fastener elements are supported on such uppermost edges 78 and 72. Theelements 100 hang over such uppermost edges 78 and 72 adjacent the wall 82. Inasmuch as the vertical height of the wall 82 is appreciably greater than the maximum dependent dimension of the elements 100 contact between the elements 100 carried by the tape 96 and the uppermost surface of outside portion 70 of needle plate 62 is avoided during the stitching operation joining the tape 96 to the cloth'108.

The cloth 108 and the cloth 114 may be disposed on either side of the uppermost edges 78 and 72 which define the inside portion 68 and outside portion 70 of needle plate 62. Specifically, the majorportion of the cloth undergoing sewing may be disposed on the table 64 outside of the needle plate 62 (namely to the left of the. needle in FIGURES 1,-'3, 5, 6, 7, and 9). Disposition of the cloth in the so-indicated manner avoids bunchingup of the cloth, which is a possibility when the major portion of the cloth is forced under the arm forming the head of the sewing machine (namely to the right of the needle in FIGURES l, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 9).

For relatively thick fabrics, we have found that placing the line of stitching closely adjacent the fastener elements, namely closely adjacent the fastener elements 100 when the same are stood upright as shown in FIG- URES 6 and 9, will result in tearing of the thread in the line of stitching when the slide fastener is used. Thus, it is possible using the sewing machine 20 of the present invention to place the line of stitching so close to the elements that when the cloth is folded over in the manner described in connection with FIGURE 11, there will be a tendency for the lines of stitching to tear. Accordingly, where very thick fabrics are used, the needle 46 should be moved away from the elements 100 (as shown in FIGURE 7), in which position the needle 46 is disposed within the needle hole notch 44 in foot 42 of presser foot 22. The line of stitching produced with the disposition shown in FIGURE 7 will be spaced from the elements 100. This spacing may be varied to accommodate to different thicknesses of the cloth, with the line of stitching being disposed further and further away from the elements 100 as the thickness of the cloth increases.

The presser foot 22 permits maximum adjustment, since the spacing of the free end portion 38 of projection 36 from the instep 40 of foot 42 may be closely regulated, and the projection 36 may be rapidly pivoted into and out of position, and locked in position by the use of the thumb screw 60.

The lateral adjustment of the needle 46 (see arrowheads in FIGURE 3, and relative positions of the needle 46 in FIGURES 6 and 7) permits, as above-indicated, rapid and facile adjustment to variations in cloth thickness.

The table 64 may have any desired dimension enabling cloth articles of any size to be readily sewn by the sewing machine of the present invention.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and, accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. In a sewing machine for sewing concealed slide fastener tapes to a cloth article which includes a bed,

a needleplate carried on the upper surface of said bed intermediate the edges of said bed, a presser foot, said needleplate comprising a planar inside portion and a planar outside portion, said inside portion having a planar wall substantially perpendicular to and adjacent said outside portion so that said portions are arranged in stepwise fashion, said wall having a needle receiving notch extending from the uppermost surface of said inside portion to said outside portion, said outside portion having a needle hole therethrough below said notch and in communication therewith, said presser foot being superposed above said needleplate, said presser foot having a needle guide'notch in the instep edge thereof with said instep edge being disposed closely adjacent to said wall, the needle guide notch of said presser foot being disposed over said needle receiving notch, and at least one longitudinal feed dog slot in said inner portion, said feed dog slot extending substantially parallel to said wall, whereby a cloth article disposed on said inside portion maybe advanced by a feed dog in said slot.

2. A sewing machine in accordance with claimv 1 which includes a gauge bar carried by said presser foot, said gauge bar including an offset projection, said ofiset pro jection having a free end portion, and means on said presser foot for selectively locking the free end portion of saidlofis eti projection substantially parallel to and juxtaposed to the instep of the foot'of the presser foot, whereby 1 fastener elements may be retained in an upright position between said free end portion and the instep of said presser foot while the fastener tapes on which the fastener elements are retained may be sewn to a cloth article by a line of stitching adjacent to the fastener elements.

3. A sewing machine in accordance with claim 1 in which the presserfoot includes a body portion, a foot projecting from the. front of said body portion, with the needle guide notch of said presser foot being disposed on theinstep edge of said foot, a tubular sleeve bearing in the rear portion of said body portion, a gauge bar, said gauge bar including a cylindrical shaft rotatably disposed and reciprocally, movable within said bearing and a projection offset from said cylindrical shaft, said projection having sufiicient length'so that a free end portion of said projection will be juxtaposed to the instep of said foot when said free end portion is disposed in the plane of said foot, and selective means for releasably locking said gauge bars shaft within said bearing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

